


christmas eve with you

by clexawarrior



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Christmas Eve, F/F, Fluff, really just a light fluffy christmas piece that i whipped up yesterday on my time off
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:01:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28292055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clexawarrior/pseuds/clexawarrior
Summary: Dani and Jamie's first Christmas Eve at The Leafling is super busy as people rush to get last minute holiday presents and decorations. But they're not without assistance, as they have their adorable children as their perfect little helpers.Note: In this story, Dani and Jamie adopted Miles and Flora after the events at Bly Manor.
Relationships: Dani Clayton/Jamie
Comments: 6
Kudos: 75





	christmas eve with you

**Author's Note:**

> I just wrote this yesterday because I wanted to write something for myself for Christmas, but it's been a long time since I've actually posted a Christmas story on here, so why not? This story is unedited, so I'm sorry if parts of it are rough, but I hope you'll enjoy it all the same! Merry Christmas, Bly fandom! 💕

Dani had no idea how busy The Leafling would be for its first Christmas. She knew nothing about running a flower shop before Jamie suggested it, but Dani is sort of happy it isn't easy work. She's used to having her hands full as a teacher, and so it feels sort of right to have her hands full at the shop as well. However, it's Christmas Eve, and she and Jamie don't just have their hands full. They can't catch a single break. The shop is so packed that people are lining up outside, and while Dani feels bad about asking the kids to help, she's happy they're so ready and eager to do so.

Jamie handles the customers who require actual floral knowledge, and Dani handles the checkout and order pickups, but it sure is hard to keep up with everything. She's so glad she has such wonderful little helpers. Such adorable little helpers. Just looking at them makes Dani's heart swell with immense love, Miles in his little Santa hat and Flora dressed full-on as an elf.

All her life, when she pictured her future, Dani never even thought it possible for her to be this happy, but most days, it feels as if she can't stop smiling.

"Hello, welcome to The Leafling," Dani greets the next customer in line. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm here to pick up an order for Johnson," a man with a shock of blond hair says.

"Okay, sir." Dani looks down at the paper she's been recording all the orders on and reads the words next to Johnson. Two poinsettia plants.

"What do you need, Miss Clayton?" Flora asks as she returns from handing the previous customer her order. Dani's heart clenches a little at the title. She and Jamie have suggested Flora and Miles call them Mama and Mummy, but it seems they still aren't comfortable doing it yet. Jamie always tells Dani these things take time, and Dani knows this of course, but it doesn't stop her from hoping all the same.

"Two poinsettias," Dani tells her. "One at a time."

"I know." Flora gives a slightly exasperated sigh, giving Dani a peek at the teen she'll one day become, before smiling brightly again. "I will be careful. I promise."

"That'll be $45.99," Dani says as Flora heads towards the back of the store.

"Sure thing." The man hands her a credit card.

"Flora is grabbing your plants now, and then you'll be all set." Dani hands the card back, turning to the next person in line and going through her same welcoming speech.

"I was wondering what type of flowers might be best for the centerpieces at our Christmas party," the old woman next in line says. "I was hoping for something that conveys love and cheer?"

"I'm not the flower expert," Dani says with a smile. "I just run the business side of things. You'll want to talk to the woman over there with the curly brown hair."

Warmth spreads throughout Dani's entire body when she meets Jamie's eyes across the store and sees the abundant amount of care present in them, and she knows these are the eyes she wants to look into for the rest of her life. She doesn't have time to lose herself in Jamie right now, though, as the line is still out the door, but it doesn't bother her. She does her best to push Jamie from her mind for now as she turns her attention to a dark-haired woman with piercing green eyes. She and Jamie will have plenty of time to spend together later.

"Hello, welcome to The Leafling. How may I help you?"

"It's my first Christmas together with my wife, and we are in dire need of some mistletoe." The woman just says it, as if there's nothing wrong with it, as if it isn't 1987 and completely illegal to talk about something like this. She must have been here before. She must know Dani and Jamie are the same way. No way is she this confident.

"Mistletoe is on the right wall of the shop," Dani manages to answer without too noticeable a pause.

"You need mistletoe?" Miles appears beside the woman, clearly having heard her. "I can grab you some if you'd like."

"That would be great." The woman smiles warmly at him. "Thank you."

"How much do you need?" Miles asks.

"My siblings are coming over, and most of them have spouses so…" She scrunches up her face to think for a moment. "How about seven bundles? That's how many of us there are in my family, and the twins are obsessed with that number. They'll be over the moon."

"Okay," Miles says with a polite smile. "Seven it is."

Dani knows she needs to turn her attention to the next customer, allow Miles to handle this woman, but she finds she doesn't want their conversation to end. This is the first person she's ever met like her and Jamie, and she's not too keen on allowing her to slip through her fingers so quickly. Luckily, the decision is made for her when the woman turns back to her.

"That your son?" she asks.

"Yes." Dani nods easily. "He's adopted but yes he's mine."

"Quite the gentleman," the woman says.

"He's always been that way, ever since I met him...not even a full year ago, if you can imagine that." Dani shakes her head in disbelief. It feels as if she's known these kids all her life, known Jamie all her life, which makes her wonder… "When you said you have a wife, how? I mean, people like us can't technically be married, so…"

"You too, huh?" The woman gives Dani an approving smirk. "We can't get officially married, but we still had a mock wedding with our families, which my little sister was all too excited to 'officiate,' and now? We just wear the rings, and we know."

"That sounds amazing." Dani chances another glance at Jamie, where she's now helping the old woman that Dani sent her way. And maybe they're not ready for that kind of commitment now, but someday…

"Seven bundles of mistletoe." Miles materializes beside the woman again and holds out the plants.

"Thank you." The woman takes them with a smile before turning back to Dani. "How much?"

"Ten dollars a bundle," Dani answers, "but I'll give you a discount. Forty dollars total."

"You don't have to do that," the woman argues.

"I want to," Dani says earnestly.

"This has been such a pleasant experience. I'll make sure to come back here the next time I need flowers," the woman says after Dani swipes her card and hands it back to her. "I'm Theo, by the way."

"Dani," Dani tells her.

"I'll see you around, Dani," Theo says. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," Dani responds.

Dani returns to her work with a renewed vigor. Another woman came into the store, another woman like her and Jamie, and she has a wife. She's living proof that Dani can have that kind of life with Jamie. They can have the family life that never felt quite right to her as a kid because of the male spouse she'd been imagining. They can have the family life she always dreamed of once she came to terms with herself.

As she looks up at Miles and Flora making their way back behind the counter to stand beside her, she thinks perhaps she already has it. Theo may be married, but Dani and Jamie already have two kids, two perfect wonderful kids, and what could be better than that really?

Dani turns her attention to the next customer, and the next few hours pass in a busy rush as she rings up countless customers and sends her kids to retrieve countless plants.

"Are you sure you two don't need a break?" Dani asks after hours of nonstop working. "This is hard to keep up with."

"No," Flora says brightly. "I am positively delighted to help."

"Yeah, don't worry about us," Miles agrees. "We're all good."

And they are. All throughout the day, even when Dani starts to feel as if she can't take much more of this constant stream of people, the children grab plants and lead customers around the shop with smiles on their faces, not even looking tired in the slightest. Maybe it's their excitement for Christmas tomorrow or the endless energy that comes with being a kid, but either way, Dani is so grateful for the help. Without the children, this process would be twice as long, but with them, she knows they're handling things in a quick and routine manner that's keeping all the customers satisfied.

At the end of the day, Dani and Jamie take Flora and Miles out to a nice dinner to thank them for all their hard work and to save Dani from having to cook dinner after working all day, and she feels as if she's about to fall asleep on her feet on their short walk home.

The children, on the other hand, are still bursting with energy, taking off at a run once the four of them reach their street.

"Kids." Jamie shakes her head fondly. "Where's my share of that energy?"

"I'm sure we had it once," Dani says with a smile.

"Well, if we did, I don't remember it,"Jamie chuckles.

Even after drinking hot chocolate and watching _How the Grinch Stole Christmas_ , the kids don't seem to want to go to bed, but Dani is perfectly prepared for this. "If you stay up too late on Christmas Eve, Santa won't come to visit."

"What?" Flora asks with wide eyes.

"Well, you have to be asleep for Santa to come." Jamie easily catches on. "Surely you know that."

"Of course." Miles nods.

Dani looks at her watch and feigns surprise. "He should be stopping by in about an hour or so, so I think you better get into your pajamas and go to bed so he doesn't pass by our house."

"Why did our parents never tell us about this?" Flora asks.

"Well, Santa comes earlier for the people in the United States than he does for the people in England," Dani answers easily, thinking quickly on her feet. "He has to make it all the way around the world in one night."

"That does make sense," Miles says, eyes widening a little. "Come on, Flora. We'd better get to bed before it's too late."

Flora nods dutifully as she follows her brother off down the hallway, and Jamie calls after them, "We'll be in to tuck you in soon."

"I can't wait for tomorrow," Dani says with some excitement of her own as her children disappear from view. "I can't wait to see their little faces as they open all their gifts."

"We're gonna spoil 'em," Jamie says with a laugh.

"Never." Dani gasps in fake outrage. "I don't think those kids are spoilable. They'll be helping out in the shop until we don't have it anymore."

"They were a great help today, weren't they?" Jamie says with a relieved look in her eyes.

"And so well-mannered," Dani notes. "They didn't complain once."

"Sometimes I don't know what I did to deserve them, Poppins." Jamie looks away, fiddling with the hem of her blouse. "Or you, if I'm honest."

Dani takes Jamie's hands, causing her to look back up into Dani's different-colored eyes. "You didn't have to do anything to deserve us. You have us because we choose you, because you are the strongest, kindest person I know, and I admire you just as much as they do."

For a moment, Jamie's eyes well up with tears, and she does her best to blink them away with a small chuckle. "As much as Flora does? Is that even possible?"

"It's possible," Dani answers immediately, "because I do."

"I think…" Jamie looks away hesitantly. "I think I'm falling in love with you, Poppins."

"Good," Dani says right away, not giving Jamie another minute to doubt herself or be nervous or anything like that. "Because I've already fallen in love with you."

Green eyes snap back up to meet brown and blue, but Dani's gaze doesn't waver, and Dani knows Jamie won't find anything other than the truth in her eyes. Instead of responding, Jamie leans forward and pulls Dani in for a kiss. Dani eagerly grips Jamie's hips, groaning into her mouth as she pours the very love she just admitted into her kiss. She's known she's in love with Jamie for months now, but she didn't want to say anything before Jamie was ready, not wanting to scare her away. Now that Jamie's said it, though, Dani feels as if she's floating through the clouds, and she can't help but smile into the kiss. She feels Jamie's hands come up to tangle in her hair just as Flora shouts that she and Miles are all ready, and so Dani pulls out of Jamie's hold, quickly kissing her once more before heading down the hall to tuck her daughter in while Jamie heads to Miles's room.

Flora is already in bed when Dani gets there, and she looks up at her with a worried crease in her forehead. "What if I can't fall asleep?" she asks.

"And why wouldn't you be able to fall asleep?" Dani smiles as she pulls the bedsheets up and over her daughter, already knowing the answer.

"Because I'm much too excited," Flora says honestly. "Will Santa not come if I can't fall asleep?"

Dani pretends to think about it for a few seconds. "I think that as long as you try to fall asleep and you don't leave your room, Santa should still stop by."

"Oh, that's splendid." Flora lets out a huge sigh of relief.

"That it is," Dani agrees. "Now get some rest, and I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Mummy." Flora's eyelids are already drooping, and Dani would laugh if she wasn't so caught off guard by what had just come out of the little girl's mouth. Warmth explodes throughout her among her disbelief, and she does her best to keep tears from forming in her eyes.

"Goodnight, Flora." Dani leans down to kiss Flora's forehead, laughing lightly when she sees that Flora has already fallen asleep, despite having been so worried she wouldn't be able to mere seconds ago.

Dani can't keep the wide smile off her face as she says goodnight to Miles and walks back out to the living room to see Jamie waiting for her.

"What's with the huge grin?" Jamie asks, smiling at the sight.

"Flora called me Mummy," Dani says happily.

"See?" Jamie says knowingly. "I told you they'd come around to this...whatever this is."

"This family." Dani presses a kiss to Jamie's lips.

"This family." Jamie brushes Dani's hair back with a wide smile.

"Should we get the presents all set up?" Dani looks over to the tree in the corner of the room, eager to put out the presents for their children to open tomorrow.

"Not yet." Jamie chuckles. "Let's give the kids a chance to fall asleep first."

"Right." Dani laughs at herself. "I'll make some tea, and we can chill in the living room with the Christmas lights."

Dani moves over to the counter, grabbing the teapot from the stove, but Jamie's hand is on Dani's arm before she can do anything more than that.

"I think maybe I should make the tea," Jamie says. "You just go into the living room and relax."

"My tea isn't that bad." Dani sticks out her lower lip in a pout, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jamie presses a quick kiss to Dani's pout. "You keep tellin' yourself that."

Dani rolls her eyes and heads into the living room, but she isn't mad. Far from it. In fact, she can't remember the last time she's ever felt this happy.

The last thing she remembers is getting comfortable on the sofa as she waits for Jamie to make tea, and then suddenly she looks around to find Jamie carrying her down the hallway to their bedroom.

"What are you doing?" Dani moves to get out of Jamie's arms, but Jamie only grips her tighter.

"I'm takin' you to bed, Poppins," Jamie says.

"Why?" Dani asks as Jamie deposits her softly on her side of the bed.

"You fell asleep while you were waitin' on me to make tea," Jamie explains, "and you looked so peaceful that I didn't wanna wake ya."

"But the presents." Dani sits up. "We have to-"

"Shhh." Jamie crawls into bed beside her and pulls her back down. "Already done."

"Jamie," Dani says disapprovingly, but she settles in against Jamie's chest all the same. "You should've woken me up. You're just as tired as I am."

"It was no trouble." Jamie runs her fingers through Dani's long blonde hair.

"What did I do to deserve you?" Dani sighs.

"You didn't have to do anything," Jamie repeats Dani's answer from earlier, "because I choose you."

"I love you so much." Dani snuggles further into Jamie, already feeling sleep start to pull her under again.

"I love you too, Poppins." Jamie presses a kiss to Dani's forehead, and Dani doesn't think she'll ever tire of hearing that. "I love you too."


End file.
